The invention relates to a steering spindle provided for mounting on a body part of a motor vehicle and intended for a steering device, having a telescopic first profile piece, which encloses a first profile piece at least in one end region, and a shock-absorbing member for absorbing kinetic energy during a movement of the first profile piece relative to the telescopic first profile piece.
Such steering spindles are often used in modern motor vehicles and are thus known. The shock-absorbing member, in the event of the motor vehicle crashing, serves to convert kinetic energy between the telescopic first profile piece and the first profile piece into plastic deformation. In this way, in particular if the head of the driver strikes the steering wheel, head injuries are kept especially slight. A disadvantage of the known steering spindle is that the steering wheel in the case of this steering spindle cannot be shifted into a desired position by the driver.
The possibility of pushing the first profile piece into the telescopic profile piece in order to adjust the steering wheel could be considered. In this case, however, the shock-absorbing member is likewise adjusted or deformed, so that the manual adjustment turns out to be very sluggish. Furthermore, due to this design, no intended force characteristic can be produced during the absorption of the kinetic energy by the shock-absorbing member in the event of a crash.
The problem addressed by the invention is to design a steering spindle of the foregoing type in such a way that a steering wheel, with this steering spindle, can be shifted as simply as possible into a desired position by the driver and that the shock-absorbing member, in the event of a crash, absorbs the kinetic energy irrespective of the position of the steering wheel.